This week’s top story looks at the lack of coverage across most major news outlets when it comes to a recent amendment to Trump’s big tax bill — one that would revoke Medicare coverage of gender-affirming care for trans youth and adults. It’s a particularly egregious omission given the impending U.S. v. Skrmetti case, which could set a precedent around bans on gender-affirming care for trans youth.
In this issue:
📝 The latest attack on trans healthcare is mostly absent from mainstream news
📝 Five years later, the AP still inconsistently describes George Floyd’s murder
And also: California opens inquiry into ‘60 Minutes’ suit, New York Times strikes an AI licensing deal with Amazon, Business Insider lays off 21% of staff, and NPR and Colorado public radio stations sue the White House. Plus, the resource of the week is a free virtual training about equitable coverage of housing and homelessness.
—James Salanga
GENDER & SEXUALITY
The latest attack on trans healthcare is mostly absent from mainstream news
Nearly one in four trans people in the U.S. use Medicaid to access gender-affirming care.
Nearly one in four trans people in the U.S. is at risk of having this care taken away due to the eleventh-hour adds to H.R. 1, the “One Big Beautiful Act.” Initially, the bill banned gender-affirming care through Medicaid only for youth, but a last-minute change expanded that to trans adults.
The bill passed through the House with a 215-214 vote on May 22 and is now moving through the Senate, with several Democratic Party representatives saying they were unable to fully read the amended bill put forth late on the evening of May 21.
In The Independent, Rep. Sarah McBride, the first openly trans member of Congress, called it “one more example of health care that they're trying to rip away.”
But across several mainstream publications, there is little coverage of how the legislation impacts trans people. ln immediate coverage of the bill, broader summarization of “Medicaid cuts” eclipses the component of the legislation directly targeting trans people. LGBTQ+ community publications like LGBTQ+ Nation and Them., along with NBC OUT, covered the amendment. But from the New York Times to Politico, CNBC, and ABC News, there was no initial mention of the impact the passage of this bill could have on trans people.
Several mainstream newsrooms are not laying out key priorities in the bill, including this provision that further limits trans people’s access to public life. As anti-trans legislation continues to reach record levels year over year, these publications are choosing to not include accurate reporting on what’s at stake for trans people in the bill or how these legislative priorities contradict scientific evidence.
—James Salanga
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RACE
Five years later, the AP still inconsistently describes George Floyd’s murder
The major newswire service continues to use passive voice when describing a crucial flashpoint of police violence. Read more in The Objective.
WHAT ELSE?
A bit more media
California opens inquiry into Paramount and Trump: After Paramount offered millions to settle its suit with Trump over 60 Minutes — a settlement he rejected — California State Senate members wrote: “Perhaps even more concerning is the potential chilling effect of Paramount’s settlement on investigative and political journalism. Such a settlement would signal that politically motivated lawsuits can succeed when paired with regulatory threats.”
New York Times brings its content to Amazon AI devices: The surprise agreement comes as the publication remains locked in a legal battle with OpenAI and Microsoft over the use of its content for AI training. Amazon can now use news and editorial content, along with stories from The Athletic and recipes from the NYT Cooking section, to train its large language models and offer context via devices like Alexa.
Business Insider lays off 21% of its staff: “This is the third round of layoffs in as many years and it is unacceptable that union members and other talented co-workers are again paying the price for the strategic failures of Business Insider’s leadership,” Insider Union told The Wrap. The company hired a Newsroom AI Lead two weeks ago and CEO Barbara Peng said in her memo announcing layoffs that “there’s a huge opportunity for companies who harness AI first.”
NPR and Colorado public radio stations sue the White House The Dispatch, which has self-described itself as a conservative publication, acquired the Supreme Court-focused outlet in April. But “for now, SCOTUSblog and The Dispatch will remain independent products, occasionally cross-posting content to give the newer publication’s audience a broader view of how the U.S. government works.”
Have a story you think we should include in this section of next week’s newsletter? Let us know here or by responding to this email.
JOURNALISM IN A GRAF
Quote of the week
“When writing about Palestine, do not let facts get in the way of telling a good story. To this end, ignore Palestinian sources. They may be biased.”
FINALLY…
Resource of the week
This week’s resource is … an upcoming training focused on covering housing and homelessness through an equity lens.
The training, held on June 4 at 12 p.m. ET, is co-sponsored by the Eviction Lab and the Investigative Project on Race and Equity will look at how housing impacts every community, what's happening with housing and homelessness under the Trump administration, and data resources and story ideas you can tackle in your newsroom right now.
Thanks for reading. We’ll have more for you next week.
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